A Letter From Joe Alleva

Thank you to everyone who took time to respond last week to my letter about televised football games.

It is important for you to know we will always fight for the traditions that are critical to LSU and its fans. When it comes to football, it is the traditions of tailgating, white jerseys and night football that mean so much to Tiger fans on game day.

So I am happy to inform you that, during the discussions pertaining to the move of the LSU-Alabama game on November 5 in Tuscaloosa to a night time kickoff, CBS committed its primetime telecast for next year by selecting the LSU vs. Alabama game at night in Tiger Stadium on CBS.

Of course we will always continue do everything within our means to have as many other night games as possible in Baton Rouge.

Rest assured that the Southeastern Conference office and all of the league members are aware of the importance of night football at LSU. Just like the cowbells at Mississippi State and traditional matchups like Alabama-Tennessee and Auburn-Georgia, there are traditions that the SEC works to preserve for the good of the league while remaining fair to all universities.

This year's LSU-Alabama game was moved at the request of CBS. It was accomplished only after negotiations between CBS and ESPN, because ESPN by contract televises the night SEC games. ESPN received future scheduling considerations from CBS for making the move. The change in kickoff time was not requested by either participating school.

Congratulations to both the LSU Tigers and the Alabama Crimson Tide on their accomplishments to date. They have set up a showdown in Tuscaloosa that will have the world watching because, for the first time in SEC history, the No. 1 and No. 2 teams will meet in the regular season. They will be playing under the lights on November 5, and also next year when they meet in Tiger Stadium.

As always, we welcome your comments at athletics@lsu.edu. Unfortunately we cannot answer every e-mail we receive, but please be assured they are all read.